Scheepers opens Guangzhou defense with win

Chanelle Scheepers opened defense of her WTA title at the Guangzhou International Women's Open tennis tournament with a straight-set victory Monday in China. Scheepers picked up her first WTA championship last year with an unseeded run through the field in China. She's seeded fifth this year and opened first-round play with a 6-0, 6-3 win over wild-card entrant Wang Qiang. Scheepers dropped just 14 points over eight service games in winning 71 percent of the points on serve. She didn't face a break point while finishing off four of her five break opportunities. Bojana Jovanovski also advanced with a lopsided victory, stopping Timea Babos 6-1, 6-3 in a little more than an hour. Jovanovski piled up six breaks on the day. Also Monday, Mandy Minella got by Pauline Parmentier 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and Laura Robson advanced when Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor retired in the second set. Robson was up 6-2, 3-1 when play was stopped. World No. 10 Marion Bartoli is the top seed for the $220,000 Guangzhou International.